


What A Coincidence

by mamalovesherbagels



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: hi i need eddie and maddie to bond on the show, i will have to just speak it into existence, so until then, the author works in mysterious ways, will probably be 2 or 3 parts but honestly who knows
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:20:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23913718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mamalovesherbagels/pseuds/mamalovesherbagels
Summary: “Should I be expecting a niece or nephew?” “Funny-- oh, wait… FUCK!” Or, the one where Eddie and Maddie disappear for a few hours and Buck and Chimney have no idea what’s going on.
Relationships: Eddie Diaz & Maddie Buckley (9-1-1 TV), Evan “Buck” Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Comments: 9
Kudos: 77





	1. Ooooh boy (or maybe a girl)

“Oh, god. What are you drinking? No offense, I mean,” she adds hastily, “it just smells really strong.”

“Uh, none taken,” Eddie chuckles, “but it’s no different from the coffee that I’m usually holding in my hand, Maddie.”

“Wait, really? Because the smell is seriously making me want to puke. No offense, again.”

“Should I be expecting a niece or nephew?” Eddie asks, completely joking, because really, he just thinks Maddie’s hungover or something.

“Funny-- oh, wait… FUCK!”

“Okay, okay, you know what?” Eddie asks, scrambling to do damage control because he likes Maddie, and she’s Buck’s sister, after all, but the two of them haven’t spent enough time together for him to be the right person for this, “you’re probably not pregnant, okay? One time, Shannon thought she was pregnant, but then she was just late, and then she got hit by a car a died, but that was unrelated--”

“Dude, not helpful!”

“I figured, look, I just mean, you thinking my coffee smells weird most likely isn’t a sign that you’re pregnant.”

“What about the fact that I just realized I’m a week late?”

“Well, that might be a little more convincing, but as a woman gets older--”

“Think very, very carefully about that.”

“You can’t know for certain unless you take a test, okay? That’s the only way to be sure-- uh, Maddie, where are you going?”

“Where do you think?!”

“Uh, to buy a pregnancy test, but Buck and Chimney are about to be here--”

“And you think I can look my boyfriend in the eye right now without knowing one way or the other?”

“...we can cancel, and then you and Chimney can--”

“Move. I’m leaving. I need to know NOW.”

“You seem a little freaked out to drive,” he tries, which is a sincere concern of his, but Maddie is already out the front door.

“You know what? Damn it,” he mumbles to himself, chasing after her, “I’m coming. I’ll drive, okay?”

“I don’t need you to--”

“Maddie, please? Besides, what am I supposed to tell your brother and your boyfriend when they show up and you’re not here?”

“...yeah, I don’t trust you to lie convincingly enough. Get in the car.”

Which is how it all begins, and how Eddie ends up waiting outside the women’s bathroom at an L.A. Walmart as his boyfriend’s sister pees on a stick, with neither of them thinking of an excuse beyond “we had to go do something” to text their panicked significant others who were expecting to meet up with them a half hour ago.

Maddie’s been in there for a while, so either she already knows the result and is taking some time to process it by herself or she’s still working up the courage to take the test, and really, he understands either way, but it doesn’t stop the situation from being so unbearably weird.

“Just waiting on my wife,” he has to say awkwardly to a few women on their way into the bathroom, who very understandably seem to think he’s a creeper.

After what feels like an eternity, Maddie emerges from the bathroom with a facial expression that he can’t read.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Eddie decides to say after a moment, just absolutely itching to know but wanting to respect her privacy.

“How am I going to tell Chimney?” she asks, expression blank, and Eddie supposes that there’s his answer.

“...Okay, how about we go back to the car to talk, because I’m guessing this is a conversation you don’t actually want to have in public?”

“Yeah, good idea,” she sighs, seeming… shell shocked as they walk back out to her car.

“So…” Eddie starts as non-awkwardly as he can after a long, tense few moments of silence in the front seat of her car, “do you want me to tell you what I think? Or do you want me to just stay quiet? Whatever you need, Maddie. I, um, might not be the right person for this, but I care about you, so I want to try.”

“What do you think?”

“I think that you and Chimney will make amazing parents, if that’s something you want. Hell, you practically raised Buck, and I’m pretty fond of him,” he says with a little smirk, “but I also think it’s not my place to judge if this is not something you want, and I can just… pretend this never happened, and never say a word to Buck. Your body, your choice, your privacy.”

“Mmm,” she murmurs thoughtfully, fiddling with her fingers in her lap a bit.

“And I also think you don’t have to know how you feel about this right this very second.”

“But I do know how I feel about this,” she says after a moment.

“And that is…? If you’re willing to share, of course.”

“I-I think I’m ready,” she says, sounding surprised that she’s even saying it out loud, “and I think I want this… I never thought, after Doug, I mean… I sort of just assumed it would never… I feel safe enough to do this, and I feel recovered enough to do this, free enough to… but I don’t know if Chimney is going to want to do this, too. And that’s what scares me. If he’s not all in on this… I don’t think I could do that to him. This has to be something that he wants, too.”

“Have you two talked about kids before?”

“Yes, about eight months ago, and we both settled on maybe.”

“Okay, so a maybe means he’s at least interested in the idea, and personally, I think he’ll be thrilled.”

“You do?”

“I do,” he nods genuinely, “you’ve seen him with Christopher, right? And Denny? I think he’ll make a great father, and I think he’ll enjoy being a father, he’s just… Chimney. He psychs himself out of things by assuming he’ll be terrible at them, so he’s always too afraid to start.”

“That’s true,” Maddie replies with a tiny, tentative smile, “and you know, he really is so good with kids, and sweet, and kind of childish himself at times, but in a good way.”

“All true,” Eddie nods, “and trust me, you two are eons more ready for a baby than I was when Christopher was born, and I think I’ve done a pretty okay job with him.”

“You’ve done a great job with him,” she replies sincerely.

“But there was definitely a learning curve involved there. It took me a while to grow into fatherhood, and no one, no one is a perfect parent, but I think you and Chimney have a better head start on it than I did with Chris. I wasn’t ready-- at all. But you two are older, and in a more stable relationship than I was in with his mother, and more mature than I was. And even though I got off to a rough start, I still got to a good parenting groove now. So I really think you and Chim? Are gonna be kickass parents.”

“Thank you,” she sighs after a moment, poking at her belly a bit, “so weird to think that there’s a thing growing inside of me right there.”

“I believe the technical medical term is “fetus,” Nurse Maddie.”

“Oh, shut up,” she giggles, before sighing and turning toward Eddie, “so, we should probably head back before Chimney and Buck call Athena to track us down, right?”

“Yep, probably a good idea.”


	2. We All Scream For Ice Cream

About halfway back to Maddie’s place, where they originally were supposed to meet with Buck and Chimney, she starts to freak out again. Which he empathizes with, because he’s never had to tell anyone he was pregnant, but he’s not really sure what to do. He wants to be sensitive to what she needs right now, but she also knows that Buck and Chimney are acutely wondering what the fuck is going on, and the longer he and Maddie are gone, the more they’re going to jump to some ridiculous conclusions.

Still, this is the woman he hopes will one day be his sister-in-law, and he wants to build up a solid foundation of trust and friendship between the two of them, so he decides to choose her in this scenario.

Which is how he ends up at an ice cream parlor with his boyfriend’s pregnant sister, while said boyfriend and boyfriend’s sister’s boyfriend continue to blow up both of their phones. But whatever, he sends off a “we’re fine, I promise” text, and turns his attention back to her, smiling in amusement as she very enthusiastically licks at a brownie batter ice cream cone.

“Would never have pegged you for a strawberry ice cream kind of guy,” she smiles, mouth half full of ice cream.

“What can I say, I’m full of surprises.”

“Mmm, this is so good,” she moans enthusiastically, making him chuckle, “how come the thought of every kind of food makes me want to gag, but this ice cream at ten-thirty in the morning is the best thing I’ve ever tasted?”

“I think that’s like, a universal pregnancy thing,” he laughs, pausing a bit wistfully, “or at least, it was the same way with Shannon.”

“Do you still miss her?” Maddie asks after a moment, and he can tell it’s not a trick question- not a gotcha, I’m gonna kick your ass if you say yes because I’m Buck’s big sister thing- but a genuine inquiry. He supposes if anyone understands having… complicated, complicated feelings for someone that you used to love, it’s Maddie.

“Sometimes,” he responds truthfully, “sometimes. I mean, she’s Christopher’s mother, so I’m always going to miss her presence in our life. I think… I don’t think we’d still be together now, even if she hadn’t asked for a divorce before she died. I think that… our relationship was always going to fall through. But that doesn’t mean I have to hate her.”

“Not at all,” Maddie nods, reaching out to squeeze his hand for a second, “sorry if that’s painful to talk about.”

“Nah,” he shakes his head, “it’s good to talk about her, to keep her alive for Christopher’s sake, and for mine. I’d like to think we’d have this great friendship by now, if she was still alive, and that her and Buck would get along so well.”

“Well, my brother does have the heart of a golden retriever,” Maddie grins, “I think he would totally nail the amicable with your ex-wife thing.”

“He would,” Eddie laughs, “and I think Shannon… well, she could be a little.. intense, but I really think she’d come around to him. If only she was still here.”

“If only,” Maddie nods, smiling sympathetically, “I’m sorry she’s not, Eddie.”

“Me too,” he sighs, before deciding to try and lift the mood a bit, because this outing is supposed to be about Maddie’s feelings, not his, “but you know how iiiiiiiiis still here, and wondering where his girlfriend is?”

“Eddie,” she groans.

“No, I have a boyfriend, I’m talking about Chimney, who, by the way, is going to be a million times easier to talk to about this then I’m sure you’re imagining in your head.”

“You’re probably right--”

“I AM right.”

“You are right,” she amends begrudgingly, “I know I just need to… rip off the proverbial band aid. It’s just… I still can’t believe this is really happening.”

“I imagine the thought takes some getting used to. I know when I found out about Christopher I was floored,” he says with a laugh, “and it’s probably a little more shocking to find out that you’re the one growing the surprise baby.”

“God, I just never imagined this happening to me at THIS age,” she says incredulously, “an unplanned pregnancy was like, my worst fear, as a teenager and throughout my marriage to Doug, but I just… I never thought… I mean, I’m forty.”

“And pregnant,” Eddie says with a little wink, “you know, I think Christopher will just love having a cousin who actually lives in the same state as him.”

“Does he like babies?”

“He loves them,” Eddie smiles fondly, “he’ll be just over the moon when he learns there’s one in his Aunt Maddie’s belly.”

“He’s a sweet kid,” Maddie sighs, “I hope this one is a lot like him.”

“It’s Chimney’s kid,” Eddie deadpans, “don’t think the kid could be a jerk if she tried.”

“She?” Maddie asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Just popped out. Who knows. But I think Chimney would love having a daughter. Or a son, of course, I just think him with a little girl would be insanely adorable.”

“It would,” Maddie smirks, hand on her stomach, “you know, would you and Buck ever consider having--”

“We’re talking about you and Chim right now.”

“Fair,” she laughs, before glancing down at the time displayed on her phone, “we should go. For the real this time. If I start freaking out again, just ignore me, okay? Drive me straight home. I need to do this eventually, anyway.”

“Yes, ma’am. You sure you don’t want any more ice cream before we go, though, mama?”

“Shut up, Eddie.”


	3. Surprise, Daddy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! There's going to be one more chapter after this, with a 3-4 month time jump, to when they're ready to start telling their friends and family the big news.

“Sooooooo,” Buck starts, letting out a puff of air from his cheeks, “either of you want to tell me and Chim here what’s going on?”

“I will,” Eddie nods, glancing at Maddie, “just maybe not for a few months. Come on, sweetheart, lets go.”

“Eds, what--” Buck starts, tripping a bit as Eddie grabs his elbow and tugs him out the doorway.

“Maddie and Chimney need to talk. We’re going to go for a drive,” Eddie says casually, as if the couple of hours of him and Maddie’s mysterious disappearance never happened.

“What…” Maddie hears, before their voices are too out of reach for her to hear.

“So… we need to talk?” Chimney asks, scratching at his chin a bit, obviously nervous, “Maddie- where were you two?”

“Can you sit please?” she asks in a tiny voice, motioning to her kitchen table.

“You’re breaking up with me. Oh my god, you’re breaking up with me,” he says, as if it’s the most logical, obvious conclusion in the world, “Eddie took you out to talk so you could figure out to--”

“I’m not breaking up with you,” she interrupts, almost in a yell, her heart beating out of her chest, “that’s not what Eddie and I were talking about.”

“Well, first of all, thank god, because you’re the woman I love and I’m not ready to say goodbye,” he says with an anxious chuckle, “but uh… what were you two talking about then? Whatever it is… you just, you seem nervous, and that’s making me nervous, and I’m kind of just coming up with all these terrifying scenarios in my head.”

“Eddie made a joke earlier,” Maddie says slowly, pausing to take a deep, deep breath, “I said his coffee smelled gross, and he jokingly suggested that I… that I might be pregnant.”

“Oh,” Chimney says in a tiny voice, playing with his hands in his lap, “you want… is that something that you want? Now, I mean, we’ve talked about having kids but I know you settled on a maybe. I gotta be honest, I wasn’t expecting--”

“Howie,” she says, and he stops dead in his track, clearly surprised at her using his actual name, “Howie, what I’m trying to tell you is that we ARE going to have a kid. Now. Or, I guess in about nine months.”

“You’re… Maddie, you’re pregnant?”

“I am,” she nods, too afraid to meet his eye, “he was right… after he made that joke it just… clicked. I’ve been… weird, about certain smells lately, and I realized that my period was late, and I started freaking out and just felt like I had to know THAT second, so Eddie and I went on a little adventure and I peed on a stick and it told me I was pregnant. I’m pregnant, Howie.”

“Well,” he says after a long moment, “I wasn’t expecting that at ALL, but it’s a million times better than the worst case scenarios I was imagining.”

“Really?” she asks, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Well, yeah, us having a kid is better than you having cancer.”

“You thought…? No, no, Chim, no, I don’t have cancer.”

“I knew it wasn’t likely,” he says, looking down at the table, “I just… I don’t know, I was scared, and I’ve been through that with my mom.”

“I’m not going to die on you, Chim,” she says with a sad little smile, reaching out to grab his hand, “I’m just going to be have a baby.”

“Just? You’re “just” going to have a baby?” He laughs nervously, before taking a deep sigh, “but really, Maddie, I’m shocked… obviously… but if this is what you want? I’m not getting any younger, you know, and I have to admit… since we talked about it a few months ago it’s been on my mind. You know, all our friends have kids, and I love Denny and Christopher, and sometimes… sometimes when I see them with Hen and Eddie I get a little… jealous, I guess. So you know, maybe I am ready for this. And if I’m not, well, I can try and learn. It’s not that I never wanted kids, that was never the problem. I just… didn’t know if I could do it, be a dad. With YOU by my side, Miss Madeleine, I think I could do anything.”

“I love you so much, Chimney,” she blurts out, and he scoots back in his chair a bit, surprised, because that’s the first time she’s said it out loud since she had to, to tip him off about the trouble at the call center.

“I love you, too,” he says, breaking out into a grin, “I love you, too, and I’ll love our baby, and you know what? I probably can’t screw up parenthood any more than my father has, so I think our kid will be okay. Especially with you as their mom.”

“So, we’re really going to this?” she asks, getting up from her chair to go wrap her arms around his shoulders.

“We’re really going to do this,” he nods, “you, me, and that little blueberry in there.”

“Blueberry?” Maddie can’t help but laugh, kissing his cheek.

“Eh, we’ve got time to come up with an actual name,” he chuckles, “but until then, I think blueberry is kind of cute. Especially since he or she is all tiny in there still.”

“Fair enough,” Maddie smiles, “and for the record, Howie, I think you are going to be an amazing father.”

“Well,” he says, pausing for a moment before looking deeply into her eyes, “I’m glad I’m going to get the chance to find out.”


End file.
